Redefining what a map can be with new information and AI • Hacker News Board

Re: Redefining what a map can be with new information and AI

#291

Post by TeMPOraL » Fri, Apr 02, 2021, 9:26 AM UTC

falcor84 wrote: post #266

TeMPOraL wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree. A navigational aid such as Google Maps is only good as long as you know your exact destination in advance. If for some reason you can't, or you need to orient yourself in an area, or even understand the route you're on, or - God forbid - plan a trip involving multiple destinations - Google Maps is incredibly hard to use.

I'm not quite sure what you mean; I've been quite happy with Google Maps's support for multiple stops. And as for the other thing: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there".

What I mean is, it's nice if you input the exact location or locations that you want to visit. It sucks when you're trying to plan a trip - exploring what's in the area, possible routes there. At that stage, you may not have any concrete stop in mind, you're just trying to tentatively evaluate options. Google Map's interface makes this task very hard. It also sucks when you're trying to orient yourself - i.e. understand what the map shows in relation to where you stand. In particular, the way it goes out of its way to hide street names is very annoying.

The latter two use cases are exactly what a map is supposed to be for. Hence, Google Maps suck at being a map.

Re: Redefining what a map can be with new information and AI

#292

Post by nightski » Fri, Apr 02, 2021, 10:08 AM UTC

jachee wrote: post #280

nightski wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's fair to call it "selfish". If I am someone who only drives a few thousand miles a year or even less (this is actually true for me), then wanting to save a minute or two isn't exactly selfish compared to a person who drives 10-20k miles a year. You can't really judge on the scale of one trip. I'm fine with the feature though as long as it gives an option. In fact, I would enjoy having the new capabi…

IF there are 10-20k "people like you" making the "not really selfish" choice, they're doing as much harm as the person who drives 10-20k miles a year. It's about network effects. The more people we get to make the more eco-friendly choice, the better the place gets for all of us.

Actually no, if there are 10-20k people like me only driving a few thousand miles instead of 10-20k miles per year we'd be much better off! (which btw is the average in the US)

You aren't going to shame me over a few miles when I make a concerted effort to drive 1/10 of the average American, sorry.

But hey good news, Google is abandoning remote work and making its employees drive to and from work every day probably negating any benefit from this feature whatsoever.

Re: Redefining what a map can be with new information and AI

#293

Post by zak2727 » Fri, Apr 02, 2021, 4:14 PM UTC

throwawayboise wrote: post #131

FTA but not the main point of this thread: we’re now able to bring Live View to some of the trickiest-to-navigate places indoors: airports, transit stations and malls. Seems to me that these are the easiest places to navigate indoors, because of the plentiful signage. Malls probably the hardest of the three, but still pretty easy IMO. I've never had any issue finding a gate or baggage claim at an airport, since there…

Yes, there is typically good signage in airports and transit stations, but two main factors will make this a game-changer:

1. airports are a place where a non-insignificant number of visitors have never been there before and may be unfamiliar with the language of the signage. 2. ever been late to a flight? That's a high-stress situation wherein you may be more likely to become frustrated with signage and any human-made error can lead to you missing your flight.

Of course, these two do not usually apply to malls, but still a pretty handy feature there (IMO the less time spent navigating a mall the happier I am).